Hello Everyone, I am new to the forums here and am very glad to be here... I have had my eye on a mini cooper s since they have been introduced here in the states. Anyways, I finally have come upon one here locally and was wondering if I could get some second opinions of people who know more about the car than I. Any suggestions on what to look for, things to check on, or if i just need to pass on the car all together would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your time, and once again... glad to be here!

2003 Mini Cooper S
6-Speed
Sport Package w/17" Runflats
Electric Blue with Black Top and Mirrors
Black Leather Interior
It has all of the options except for the Navigation, and I don't think it had heated seats.
29,350 miles

They are asking $16,900 for the car, and I don't know if I can talk them down from that.

I have always liked the lazer blue minis, but my real ideal mini would be the BRG with a white top, or the Charcoal with a white top... but this one is really growing on me... Anyways, any advice on what to look for or if its just a really good buy and I need to get it now would be nice .

I test drove the car last night and it drove really nice, seemed to have a pretty good amount of get up and go for what it is ( i am used to a '90 nissan 300zx tt ) and I was impressed with the space that the mini would have if you dropped the back seats to take it on a road trip somewhere. I am just looking for a more practical car than my 300ZX or my MR2 that is still sporty, but more reliable to take on trips, and fun to drive... Thank you all again for your time, and sorry for the insanely long first post!

 

nice..

thats nice price.

I love my mini. but R56 sucks. may be i sale this car and buy one nice used 03-05 MCS R53 hehehe

 

Hi Boostin, welcome to NAM. At first glance the price looks OK but do you have more info like is it manual or automatic tranny, ask the seller if it has premium package or sport package? I am guessing no cold weather package or it would have heated seats. Is it for sale from an individual or dealership? I would recommend that you check the MINI out thoroughly because there are a few things that can go wrong that are quite expensive to replace ($1600 for the dealership to replace the clutch for example but you can get it done at an Indy shop for cheaper).

Hopefully some of our resident gear heads will come in here & give you some better advice on what you need to look out for. Good luck to you on your quest to get a MINI

 

Hello bamatt, thank you for the welcome ... Sorry I forgot some of the information... the car is a 6-speed, it has the premium package and the sport package, it is at a small dealership here locally that i trust... they always have very nice cars, bmw's, audi's, etc... the car is a 1 owner and is carfax certified... As for the repairs, i have always worked on my own cars unless its something that requires more special tools... but i have always worked on my 300zx, my mr2, and my buddies 2004 STI, anything from clutches to full engine rebuilds... so hopefully the mini won't be too hard to work on, but i am worried about prices for replacement parts, since it is a BMW i am sure they are $$$... Thank you so much for your info, and hopefully my information that I forgot will help you to make a better assessment on if the car is a good deal or not... It sure was fun to drive I know that ... It would kill my Z in the corners, and it has a fully setup suspension ... Thanks again for your time and information!

 

Sounds like you really like it , so I'd go for it. I bought a used '04 and have had no problems.

 

thanks for all your help guys... any more advice is appreciated!

 

I am just not mechanically inclined enough to offer you any more advice but I do know starting in 2005 MINI's because much more reliable. I dunno if you can swing the extra bucks to go a bit newer or not. But then again there are plenty of trouble-free '03 & newer MINIS out there.

You might try doing a NAM search for 2003 problems & see what threads you come up with (like this one). Sorry I can't be of more help

 

hello again bamatt, thank you for the tread link... I have done some research on them through this forum... great source of information here and seems like a great community, and i can't wait to be a part of it.. I am really leaning towards purchasing this one, and if i don't like it for whatever reason, i can always sell and wait for the right color/option combo i want, or just give this one to my g/f ... she loves the color... lol... thanks again for all of your time! and I will let you guys know how it goes... i'm going to take it for an extended test drive tonight and into tomorrow... Thanks again!

 

how do the strut towers look...

 

I haven't actually looked at those yet, that is one of the many things along with the door seal rust that I am going to look for when I take the car for the extended test drive tonight... Thanks for the reminder!

 

I've looked at about 25 first generation MINI's for sale in the last couple of months. Most of them had some strut tower deformation, some were barely noticable, some were severe. I really had to look at a quite few to get a good eye and feel for the different levels of deformation.
I don't have a lot of confidence in any of "fixes" for this problem...be careful ... in the long run, metal just doesn't like being bent back and forth.

 

Thanks for your help coolingfin, i have been looking at those M7 plates that hopefully help correct and prevent this problem, either those or the strut tower bar... I will be sure to take a look at them tonight, and if its not very noticeable, i will take a picture and post up and see what you guys think of them since you have seen more than I have and i'm really not sure what I am looking for... Thanks again for all your help guys!

 

ok guys, I have been driving it all freaking night and I absolutely love the car ... i think i have put about 300 miles on it just today, lol... anyways, after looking at the car I think I am going to get it as long as you guys think that these 2 things that I have noticed aren't major problems...

1. The car has a slight road noise to it, i really feel like its coming from the tires, they are pirelli runflats, but its coming from the back of the car... is there something else back there that could go bad that would cause this road noise? it sounds like a tire that has worn wrong or something like that if you know what i'm saying... my sister's vw bug sounds like this too since she has aftermarket wheels and they wore wrong because the car was out of camber and the tires have feathered... anyways, any ideas on this would be great... tire, wheel bearing, axle, whatever...

2. when the car turns when sitting still, like if you just turn the steering wheel when you are parked, the power steering pump is very loud, is this normal? or signs of the power steering pump going out? It doesn't sound like any power steering pump that i have ever heard, although this is the first one in a mini that I have listened to... Any help on this would be greatly appreciated also!

Thank you guys so much for all of your help, and if all goes well and those 2 things above are either easy fixes, or nothing to worry about, you will have another enthusiastic member to add to the community ... Thanks again!

 

Ohh on another note, I checked the strut towers, and there is no deformation at all and no cracks at all... And I saw the headlight washers for the first time and it was the most amazing thing i have ever seen, i truly feel like i'm driving james bond's car now... lol... I'm easily entertained... sorry... Thanks again for everyone's help, and if you have opinions on the post above, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Some tires are known to exhibit increased road noise after a bit of wear. I've never used runflats, so I can't speak to those particular tires. If you could describe the noise a little, ti might help. Is it consistent, is it variable to speed, is it worse at high speeds? It is very normal to hear the power steering pump when you just barely touch it. It is operated and powered independently from the rest of the system to reduce strain on the battery/alternator. Have fun in your new MINI!

 

PS pump whine is normal since it is eletric. Some are louder then others but it is normal.

I bet the runflats are the cause of the road noise as they get louder as they get older.

Good luck and welcome to NAM.

 

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I am just a few papers and signatures away from being a mini owner! Thank you guys for all of the great advice on the car, it was greatly appreciated! I will take some pictures and post them up once i get the car on Wednesday... Thanks again for all the help

 

The steering pump whine is normal as said above. It has very low mileage on it so that is a great price. Look foward to seeign the pics of it when you get it.

 

Be careful you did the same thing I did by test driving a used mini mine was a 2004 hyperblue and white CVT MC. Fell in love and signed paperwork that night mine had 19000 miles and was still under factory warantee. Now a year and a half latter I have a second one for my wife they are extremely fun, safe and reliable. Where else can you ask any kind of question from condition to mirror's for the outside and get over 44,000 people who are everything from drivers to vendors all who are wiling to help us out. NAM is a great resource and welcome to the family.

 

Always good to have such an enthusiastic MINI owner as a member of the NAMily, Boostin !

Sounds like a great MINI you've found. May you have many thousands of miles of Happy Motoring !

 

could be your tires... I had a lot of noise from the rear and rotated the tires to the front and now it comes from the front.

 

Thanks for the kind welcome again guys! I have a feeling that I will be addicted to mini for a long time now!, and the g/f wants one too now, lol... I am going to pick the car up wednesday, then have it detailed by a buddy of mine who does it for a living to buff out some minor imperfections in the paint, it feels like it hasn't had a wax job in a while... and then i'm going to take it to get the windows tinted hopefully friday ... I can't wait to just drive the car again, it is an absolute blast... Its a completely different kind of fun from my 300zx, and although I am very loyal to the 300zx community and they also have a great group of people on their forums, it just already seems like you guys are very easy to become life long friends with, not just because you own a mini, but it seems like the majority of people who own mini's are just good people ... Thanks again for the kind welcome, and I hope to be an active and helpful part of the community for many years to come!

 

Congratulations on the decision and welcome the word FUN will happen alot in your talks about driving your Mini..

 

hey guys just an update, i am in love with the new mini ... i will try to get some good pictures of it within the next few days, it has been snowing here and the roads are extremely salty so she is a little dirty at the moment... i have some pictures from the dealership, but they aren't any good, so i will wait and post some better ones... ohh and I forgot to mention I only live about 45 minutes from Deals Gap, AKA The Dragon ... so this mini will feel right at home ... Thanks again for all of your help! It is truly appreciated!

-Ian

 

ok, i couldn't resist... here's some pictures from the dealership if any of you care ...